The Third Host

Vacation, and more adventures

When we came to Alterac as a group, I almost expected that we would constantly be on the move, going from place to place to ensure that things were moving along well for the fledgling nation. But the last two weeks have been a nice vacation from my own expectations, and I am certainly not complaining. Adosael was even nice enough to tell Tanin and I about a nearby hot springs, which we have made use of. I enjoy spending time with her, if only because it is nice to have a female to talk with. The other races do things much differently from the Kaldorei, with men controlling much of the various day to day activities of society. Far different from Kaldorei life, where the women are usually in charge of peacekeeping and security matters.

Still, all good things come to an end. After two weeks of being able to settle in, and get used to the other faces around the city, Melianth, a draenei arcanist, went to Rudsin Brewhammer and asked him a favor. Rudsin gathered the rest of us up, and explained that Melianth had asked us to go to the Dalaran crater and place a strange device that would measure arcane energy in the area. We made haste to the crater, and after some hesitation on how to get to the bottom of the crater, placed the device. When we reached the top again, Bayal noticed that a man was collapsed on the shore of the nearby lake.

We rushed over, and the man weakly said that he had been captured and tortured by the Forsaken! The man also bore strange tattoos all over his body. I was able to determine that he had been poisoned, and he didn’t have much time at all. Shallah’dracon went ahead of us, taking a horse that he summoned out of thin air, to try and have help meet up with us. Tanin and Rudsin fashioned a gurney for the man to lie on, and I shapeshifted to that of a bear to take his weight. We were about halfway back to Alterac when the others noticed a dust cloud in the distance, closing in on us. Forsaken scouts, no doubt looking for their lost prisoner. The Forsaken had almost caught us when Shallah’dracon returned with a druid in the form of a bird. Only the druid shifted again, becoming a huge green drake. The drake soared over to the Forsaken and destroyed them in a haze of emerald fire, then shifted to who I thought was Adosael. The Kaldorei introduced himself quickly as Einderu, Adosael’s twin, and he quickly drained the wounded man of his poison by summoning thorns from the ground to stick and bleed the man.

I do not approve of that method, but it seemed to work. When we returned to Alterac, we were met by Melianth, who identified the man’s tattoos as something foreign, and likely associated with magic meant to cross planar boundaries. Adosael arrived just in time to place the man under surveillance, and to be informed that he was needed at the gate.

He returned with a two headed ogre, and bid us to join him and the ogre in the Council’s chambers in the main keep. As soon as we had entered, the ogre demanded that we turn over the women we’d saved two weeks ago to him. They were considered property to the ogres, who were very angry we had ‘stolen’ from them. The ogre actually called us thieves for saving helpless women! There was a long talk involving rhetoric, but Adosael finally told the ogre he would leave empty handed. The ogre made a threat about knowing Adosael’s secrets, and left. Adosael then told us that he was being forced into nonviolence. I cannot imagine who could force Adosael to do anything, but I understand now why we have been sent to do the dirty work.

Adosael told us to prepare for an attack during the night, but nothing came. That was yesterday. Bayal and Rudsin wish to go out and investigate the ogre’s stronghold down the road. I do not think this wise, but I will support them all the same.